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NASCAR: Roush Fenway Racing adds Xfinity development team

By Alex Herbst

FORT WORTH, TX - NOVEMBER 04: Jack Roush, co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing, walks through the garage area during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 4, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)
FORT WORTH, TX - NOVEMBER 04: Jack Roush, co-owner of Roush Fenway Racing, walks through the garage area during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 4, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway) /
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Roush-Fenway will be back up to two cars in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2018, adding the #60 Ford that will be shared by three different drivers.

With the 2017 NASCAR season officially in the books, all eyes now turn to the offseason and planning for the upcoming 2018 campaign. Roush-Fenway Racing is one of the first in the Xfinity Series to confirm its lineup for the next year, announcing on Monday that they will add a second car to their squad as a developmental effort.

The new ride will actually be a blast from the past, bringing back the #60 Ford full-time in 2018. The car will be shared by three Ford Performance developmental drivers – Ty Majeski, Chase Briscoe, and Austin Cindric. Majeski is a familiar face at RFR, having driven the #60 car on a number of one-off occasions in the last two years. Briscoe and Cindric, meanwhile, move up to the Xfinity Series after competing for one year in the Camping World Truck Series. Both were left without a ride when Brad Keselowski Racing announced they would shut down at the end of 2017.

Roush-Fenway President Steve Newmark expressed his excitement over the additional team for 2018:

"“Driver development has always been part of our DNA at Roush Fenway and Jack Roush has always taken pride in providing opportunities for up and coming drivers. All three of these drivers have exhibited a great deal of potential on and off the track and it’s going to be a lot of fun to watch as they hone their skills together and grow into the next generation of champions in our sport.”"

It is interesting to note that the new team will have the full support of not only Ford Performance but also Team Penske. After all, Austin Cindric is the son of Tim Cindric, team president at their Ford compatriot. It is also surprising to see Cindric racing with RFR after racing with Penske in the #22 Ford in 2018. This could potentially be foreshadowing a bigger role for Sam Hornish Jr. with the team next year, or simply be in addition to a handful of races for Cindric with Team Penske.

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The exact number of races each driver will have with the team has yet to be announced, but it should be expected that the drivers will have close to an even split. The only wrinkle to this could be the aforementioned inclusion of Cindric in the rotation for the #22 Ford. Additionally, while the press release makes no mention of Ryan Reed, he is expected to be back with Roush-Fenway in the #16 Ford after the American Diabetes Association and Lily Diabetes signed a multi-year extension at the beginning of 2017.

Majeski, Briscoe, and Cindric will look to not only compete for an owner’s title in 2018, but also build on the deep history of the #60 car. Mark Martin, Chris Buescher, Greg Biffle, and Carl Edwards are just a few of the successful names that have graced that car number. Solid drives and even wins could potentially translate into a full season effort for any one of these drivers in the coming years.

Next: Danica Patrick Joining NBC Sports in 2018?

Which of these three drivers do you think will find the most success in the #60 Ford? Could any of them find additional race opportunities with other teams in 2018?

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